The south-western region of Tenerife, which has been advocating for a professional fire station for over a decade – the nearest one being in Las Chafiras, San Miguel de Abona – now has a temporary facility in the municipality of Guiá de Isora. This new installation will enhance safety and reduce response times during emergencies.
The new units, situated in Isora Tejina, will host a team of four professional firefighters alongside a fleet comprising three vehicles: a specialised rescue unit, a personal and cargo unit, and a heavy urban pump, designed for fire suppression in buildings and industries, managing road traffic incidents with trapped individuals, and flood clearance operations.
Administrative hurdles and setbacks have hindered the establishment of a fully operational professional fire station in south-west Tenerife, providing more personnel and equipment than the provisional station in Guiá de Isora. A site owned by the Canary Islands government adjacent to the TF-1 motorway had been considered for years but was ultimately dismissed due to the presence of protected habitats. Another nearby plot intended for storage of highway construction materials was also evaluated but did not materialise.
While the volunteer firefighters in southern municipalities perform admirable work, security experts – along with local authorities, business owners, and community groups – have consistently advocated for the urgent construction of a professional facility in this region of the island. Presently, Las Chafiras Park remains the sole operational facility serving between Aric, with response capabilities falling short of the safety benchmarks that dictate a maximum response time of 15 minutes from the moment an alert is received at 112. This issue is compounded by the high transient population and the significant density of hotels and shopping centres in south Tenerife.
Güímar Valley
The most recent professional fire station to commence operations is located in the Güímar Valley, another area of Tenerife that has been sensitive to demographic growth, which has surged to over 60,000 residents in recent years, in addition to a bustling industrial estate. Housed in a facility of nearly one thousand square metres, 20 firefighters rotate in teams of four to provide coverage to the municipalities of Arico, Fasnia, Arafo, Candelaria, and Güímar since 2023.
Currently, the Consortium for Prevention, Fire Extinction and Rescue of the Island of Tenerife, under the auspices of the Cabildo, operates three key areas: the metropolitan zone (encompassing the parks of Santa Cruz, La Laguna, and Güímar), the northern sector (which includes the parks in La Orotava and Icod de los Vinos), and the southern area (featuring Las Chafiras Park in San Miguel de Abona and the provisional facility in Guiá de Isora).
Reduced Response Times
The president of the Cabildo, Rosa Dávila, who visited the new facility in Isora, stated that this installation will nearly halve response times during emergencies, significantly enhancing safety for the area’s population of over 225,000 residents, in addition to the transient visitors.”
Meanwhile, the mayor of Isora, Ana Dorta (CC), described the provisional station as an “essential tool” for improving safety, enabling coordination with the local police in Guiá de Isora and the volunteer firefighters from southern municipalities, “as we can now provide an immediate response to any type of incident.”
Blanca Pérez, the island’s emergency and security councillor, emphasised the “significant improvement” in emergency services. Reminding that previously, between Santiago del Teide and Arico, the only available fire station was in Las Chafiras, along with the efforts of volunteer firefighters, she stressed that the aim is now to establish a fully functional fire station “as swiftly as possible.”
Iván Martín, the island’s director of security and emergencies, highlighted that with the launch of this new resource, various incidents could be tackled, including urban and wildfires, traffic collisions, as well as maritime and mountainous rescues.
The Guiá de Isora facility boasts a semi-basement level covering 400 square metres, an outdoor space of 100 square metres allocated for the three vehicles, and direct access to the TF-82 road, situated just two kilometres from the junction of the TF-1 motorway with Vera de Erques and the TF-46 road.
